Excellence in Research for Australia

The Hon. Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, announced on 26 February 2008 that the Australian Government will be proceeding with implementation of a research quality and evaluation system to replace the Research Quality Framework – see press release.

The Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative is being developed by the Australian Research Council.  It will seek to assess research quality within higher education institutions using a combination of indicators and expert review by committees comprising experienced, internationally-recognised experts.

ERA will report by institution and by discipline those areas that are internationally competitive, together with emerging areas where there are opportunities for development and further investment.

ERA will use the new Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC) – Fields of Research (replacing RFCDs) as the primary tool for defining disciplines.

Further information on the ANZSRC may be obtained at the Australian Bureau of Statistics webpage.

The first 2 clusters to be assessed will be ERA will be physical, chemical and earth sciences plus humanities and creative arts.

More information is available from the Australian Research Council webpage.